I want to leave the male with the fry after they've hatched so he would do culling instead of me, since I want to have only a few bettas to keep. It seems more natural to me than to remove the male and cull the fry myself.

A lot of breeders leave the male in with the fry for a long time, and use the male to cull - the male will know which ones are deformed as well as weak. He can cull better than any breeder :)

So leave him in and let him do his thing..

BUT do watch him and make sure he isn't eating the babies because he doesn't know better (a lot of first time fathers don't know exactly what to do), or he doesn't care and ends up eating the babies willy nilly.. make sure he isn't just chomping on them, but actually only culling what needs to be culled.

Natural egg/fry eaters will devour all of the egg/fry. On the other hand, good daddies will nurture fry until adult. If you leave the first type of male in with fry, you won't have any left. But if you have the second type, you will end up with lots of fry. . . . you need to know your male, which can only be known through experience.

And, MattsBettas, you're the same guy who said that VT's shouldn't be bred because of bad finnage. (?!) I didn't get your answer about that on the other thread... Anyway, I do not want to "produce high quality bettas". I want them to mate, let the male do the culling and keep a couple of them. The rest, I will donate to a local pet shop. So, actually, I want to breed them and keep a couple, I don't plan on culling any by myself.

Natural egg/fry eaters will devour all of the egg/fry. On the other hand, good daddies will nurture fry until adult. If you leave the first type of male in with fry, you won't have any left. But if you have the second type, you will end up with lots of fry. . . . you need to know your male, which can only be known through experience.

Thanks for replying!

I can't imagine him leaving none of the fry to live. You are right, I don't know how he will act but if he is a very bad daddy I will remove him from the fry.

A month ago, my female layed around 100 eggs on her own and made a little bubble nest in which she kept them. She ate them all in two days but maybe she wouldn't if they were fertilized. I think she would be a good mommy since she made a bubble nest on her own.

She most likely won't eat the eggs because 99.9% of the time the male will force the female away from the nest.. sometimes to the point of wanting to kill them. So always remove the female as soon as you see they are done spawning (which could take a coupe hours).

It's scary when you are using an unknown male - my latest batch, the male was brand new to breeding.. eager though as it only took the pair a couple of hours before they started breeding. And he ended up being an EXCELLENT daddy.. his next spawn he will be with the babies until they are moved into the grow out tanks.

But you never know... if they are good, they will cull the weak/deformed. You just have to watch him to see.. see what he does when they are free swimming. And watch the whole time in case he changes his mind on whether or not they start looking yummy to him.

When they are free swimming you should be able to attempt to feed the father.. he may or may not eat at that time, but keep offering (remove any uneaten food right away), as you want him to eat the food and not the fry because he is starving.

Mattsbettas, veiltails are not "undesireable," it's your PREFERENCE that makes them like that, to you. Some people prefer veiltails to other types of fish! They are stunning fish, albeit common thanks to pet stores, and any type, when bred responsibly, can be worth a ton to anyone.

Starting with petstore stock for VTs MIGHT not be the smartest idea, since they have been "milled" for so long that they do seem to have moved away from the ideal, but when it comes down to it, breeding is about each individual's goals. We never would have gotten our CTs, Double Tails, and Halfmoons if someone hadn't strayed from the established ideal to create something new.

As for your statement about "And you really shouldn't be breeding for a couple fish," isn't that what BREEDERS do? They ship the rest off to shows and homes and never hear about them again, except for the few they keep to continue their line. As a new breeder, you probably won't have a line producing exemplary show or breeding stock without a lot of work. By allowing the father to cull the fry (if, indeed, the father can be left with the fry) you are actually starting with the healthiest, strongest fish you could have gotten! The number is smaller, so there is less competition for resources (and less growth-inhibiting pheromone released) and the remaining fish can grow stronger. Yeah, this isn't a "natural scenario," but with survival of the fittest courtesy of dad, you get the best health of the spawn, and from there can pick the best for your desired traits such as finnage and color.